Queen left touched by rapturous reception on balcony

• More Jubilee weekend videos from across Yorkshire

Despite the Duke of Edinburgh’s absence, the Queen was delighted by the rapturous response of an estimated 1.5m well-wishers who queued for hours to see her on the balcony at Buckingham Palace.

Thunderous applause from crowds of flag-waving supporters, who braved wet and dreary conditions, greeted her as a fly-past and gun salute marked the climax of four days of festivities.

The Queen was joined by the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry on the balcony.

She smiled throughout the appearance, visibly pleased, and waved as the thousands of people roared with applause, some sporadically breaking into impromptu renditions of the national anthem.

As the royal party waved from the balcony, the sky was decorated with red, white and blue smoke trails from the Red Arrows, which took part in a fly-past over the palace.

The Queen’s Guard made a “feu de joie” – a celebratory cascade of rifle fire – on the palace forecourt, interspersed with the national anthem played by the Band of the Irish Guards.

It is only the second time a feu de joie has been fired in Her Majesty’s reign. The first was following the Queen’s Birthday Parade in 2006 in celebration of her 80th birthday.

The Queen’s Guard then gave three cheers, with “hip hip hooray” echoing down the Mall.

As the Queen waved goodbye, the crowds cheered but expressed their disappointment that the celebrations were drawing to a close, shouting: “We love the Queen”, while deafening applause rang out until the royals went back inside.

Earlier the Queen returned to Buckingham Palace after a carriage procession through the capital.

With the Duke of Edinburgh in hospital, she was escorted by the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall in the 1902 State Landau as it led the procession.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry travelled behind in another state landau and during the procession a 60-gun salute by the King’s Troop could be heard.

As the family arrived at the palace’s Grand Entrance, coachman Philippa Jackson, who would have driven a third coach had the Duke of Edinburgh been able to attend, presented the Queen with a posy of flowers from the palace gardens.

Crowds who had waited on the Mall were led up to the gates of the palace just before the balcony appearance, flooding the area with a sea of flag-waving supporters.

The forecast light rain made its appearance just before the Queen, but did not seem to dampen anyone’s spirits, as choruses of Singing In The Rain and shouts of “We want the Queen” rang out.

Many had camped out overnight to secure a prime position while many more had been there from the early hours, all to catch the best view possible of celebrations.

Speaking after the Queen’s balcony appearance, Rose Helm, 63, from Whitby, North Yorkshire, said: “It was brilliant. Five of us came down here for three days and this was the highlight.

“We wouldn’t have missed it.

“Seeing the Queen on the balcony and watching the flypast was amazing. It was so moving.

“But to see the Queen without Philip was very sad. Fingers crossed, he’ll be all right. We are so used to seeing them together, she must have been feeling it but she’s done so well.”

Meanwhile David Cameron said he thought the weekend’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations will give the country the bounce it needs in a faltering economy.

He said street parties across the UK showed the nation pulling together, while the Olympics would be a “giant advertisement”.

Mr Cameron said: “What’s happened this weekend is that we have been celebrating this great institution, Her Majesty’s service of 60 years on the throne, but also seeing some of the best of British creativity, culture, music and the rest of it all at the same time.

“In the whole country, everyone’s talking to each other, everyone is chatting with their neighbours. It brings communities of people together, whatever your politics.”